RealGM

he Orlando Magic interviewed eight draft prospects on Wednesday, including Michigan State big man Deyonta Davis, Marquette big man Henry Ellenson, high-school forward Thon Maker and Michigan State guard/forward Denzel Valentine.

The interviews took place at a downtown Chicago hotel on the first day of the 2016 NBA Draft Combine.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-magic-nba-draft-combine-0512-20160511-story.html

Bensational wrote:Thon and Valentine... it's early days, but they're certainly both on my board.

fendilim wrote:Not sure what to make of Thon. Seems to be getting negative reviews these days..

fendilim wrote:Not sure what to make of Thon. Seems to be getting negative reviews these days..

Immature Luigi wrote:

fendilim wrote:Not sure what to make of Thon. Seems to be getting negative reviews these days..

where? on rotten tomatoes?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/high-school-star-thon-makers-curious-nba-draft-decision-raises-questions-eyebrows/

Maker struggled to make an impact. He watched a lot of the tournament from the bench with foul trouble. I wrote about that tournament in Sportsnet Magazine. If you went to Youtube and searched Maker’s name you’d find amazing mix tapes and stupendous dunks, a hyper-athletic big throwing it down with extreme prejudice. But what I saw in Paducah, Kentucky, was a willowy teenager who was pushed out to the perimeter by kids six inches shorter and had little impact at all. Orangeville Prep was missing a couple of players because of injuries and with Maker ineffective, Jamal Murray put the team on his back and shone.

A few weeks later I was out in Portland for the Nike Hoops Summit, a game that pits a U.S. high-school all-star team against a rest-of-the-world team. Maker’s struggles in Oregon were even more conspicuous than those in Kentucky. He played just a handful of minutes for the world team, none with the game on the line in the late stages. Maker wasn’t in any sort of foul trouble. He looked out-matched. Not that Maker didn’t have tools or tremendous upside. It’s just that he wasn’t in the same conversation as Ben Simmons, who is the projected first-overall pick in this year’s NBA draft and, by coincidence, another Australian-born kid who came to North America to pursue his hoop dreams. And he wasn’t in the same conversation as Jamal Murray, who wound up winning MVP honours, leading the international team to a win over the U.S.

fendilim wrote:

Immature Luigi wrote:

fendilim wrote:Not sure what to make of Thon. Seems to be getting negative reviews these days..

where? on rotten tomatoes?

http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/high-school-star-thon-makers-curious-nba-draft-decision-raises-questions-eyebrows/

Maker struggled to make an impact. He watched a lot of the tournament from the bench with foul trouble. I wrote about that tournament in Sportsnet Magazine. If you went to Youtube and searched Maker’s name you’d find amazing mix tapes and stupendous dunks, a hyper-athletic big throwing it down with extreme prejudice. But what I saw in Paducah, Kentucky, was a willowy teenager who was pushed out to the perimeter by kids six inches shorter and had little impact at all. Orangeville Prep was missing a couple of players because of injuries and with Maker ineffective, Jamal Murray put the team on his back and shone.

A few weeks later I was out in Portland for the Nike Hoops Summit, a game that pits a U.S. high-school all-star team against a rest-of-the-world team. Maker’s struggles in Oregon were even more conspicuous than those in Kentucky. He played just a handful of minutes for the world team, none with the game on the line in the late stages. Maker wasn’t in any sort of foul trouble. He looked out-matched. Not that Maker didn’t have tools or tremendous upside. It’s just that he wasn’t in the same conversation as Ben Simmons, who is the projected first-overall pick in this year’s NBA draft and, by coincidence, another Australian-born kid who came to North America to pursue his hoop dreams. And he wasn’t in the same conversation as Jamal Murray, who wound up winning MVP honours, leading the international team to a win over the U.S.

You can also read the comments of NBA executives here regarding Thon..

http://www.si.com/nba/2016/04/05/thon-maker-nba-draft-analysis-prospects

Incognito76 wrote:We should go for Thon at 11 he either becomes 9-10th player or if he hits his upside and becomes starter. Either is ok for us.

Just Plain Mark wrote:I'm curious about the other four interview candidates from yesterday because I wonder how many of them were PF's. I still view Gordon as PF, but the interview candidates are an indication that the Magic seem him as a SF. I'll also be curious if the Magic interview any SF's or PG's.